Holy Christmas Balls, How Did I End Up In HR?

Holy Christmas Balls, how did I end up in HR? If you know me, you know it’s a terrible fit. If you know IHB culture then you realize it’s a GREAT fit! I was first introduced to IHB about 5 years ago, about the same time I was getting into mountain biking. The two things are almost inseparable. BEER LOVES BIKES. During that time, I had the opportunity to pour beer for an event; it was an easy thing to convince me to do. I hadn’t even tried IHB beer, but that was a minor detail. After that event I was approached about serving, because someone noticed my uncanny ability to push things, or maybe it was my ability to almost instantly like people and want to chat. I don’t know, but it got me thinking. Would this be a company I’d want to work for?

Fast forward 2 years and I finally was ready to apply for an events coordinator position at IHB. I had helped coordinate IHB’s June Pint Night for the Kittitas Chapter of the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance and in MY mind it was a really logical fit. I applied, only to lose that opportunity to Nicole Klauss, who is probably editing my blog right now! 😉 But anyway, after a year or something I might have gotten over that… mostly because Greg still let us partner with beer events for fundraising purposes, so I kept “pushing” his beer, and fully buying into all things mountain biking and IHB related.

Kelsi kicked my butt at June Pint Night 2016.

Finally, this past year IHB posted the Central WA market manager position, and I was like YES!! This is so ME and clearly the perfect fit! And right now, Ross is freaking out, because he has no idea what I’m going to say… but, obviously, I did NOT get that job! And I’m really glad I didn’t, if you’ve met Daniel, then you totally know what I mean! He is the best, and always brightens the day when he joins us in the trailer!

So, back to my story, about a month after dealing with the heartbreaking rejection of the sales position I received an email that said something like, “I think it’s only a few hours a week, but here are the accountabilities of the role we need to fill” AND literally no other information! It’s all a little vague, and I might be over generalizing here… but I’m pretty sure Greg had no idea what was happening in the HR(ish) role, or the actual time commitment it was. I think it’s ok I just said that? I mean, we do encourage the kind, direct, and honest model of communication, and I will be the first to admit, I’m great at the direct and honest portion. Sometimes the kind part is a struggle, especially because my face always gives away what I’m really thinking! (Sadly, we should save that for its own blog!)

So, that’s how I ended up here, coordinating the cousins – because let’s be honest, it’s a far cry from your typical HR. But it’s proof if you volunteer in a role you LOVE long enough to showcase your random skill set, don’t shy away from rejection, and continue to operate under some form of the kind, direct, and honest model, chances are you may end up blogging about the journey that landed you right where you need to be!

Welcome to the Cousinhood! And, holy Christmas balls, don’t forget to grab the 2019 Sportsballing Calendar. It makes for a great white elephant, or an excellent gift for those tough to buy for!